Holly Berries and Mistletoe
by Twin Psychos
Summary: When the BladeBreaker's new teammate takes them to her home for Christmas, what will happen? Story of love and family. First Installment of Mishichan's Christmas Saga. KaixOC, ReixOC. Sequel Out: Carry Your Candle.
1. Chapter 1

**Holly Berries and Mistletoe**

**By Tenshi Hikari**

**Disclaimer: I do not own BeyBlade in any way, shape or form and I do not own the songs "Listen To Your Heart" by DHT or "Where Are You Christmas?" by Faith Hill. Although I do own Tenshi, Mum, Dad, Tai, and The Jingle Bells : BeyBlade Mix. My friend MuraSakura owns Sakura Petala and my accomplice in crime, Kaze, owns Kaze Minakotsa.**

**Note: All events in this story are strictly fictional. I have based some events off of experiances, but for the most part it is a plot created and made up by yours truly.**

**Read on and be prepared to be reading for a long time.

* * *

**

The winter sun sat high in the mid-December sky, but it's heat never reached the Earth. The cold air was crisp and dry as two beys whirred and clashed. A white blade rammed a gray one as the wind picked up. The white blade's master shivered and groaned loudly. " ARGH! It's FREEZIN' out here! Why do we have to train when I could be inside, warm and eating!" Tyson ranted. The gray bey took its chance and knocked Dragoon into a nearby tree. A Chinese neko-jin stooped down and picked up his blade, Driger, then looked back up at Tyson.

" Pay attention Tyson. If you lose focus, you'll lose every time," Rei warned him. Tyson dug his Dragoon blade out of the tree, having to prop his foot against the tree trunk for extra support.

" Oh yeah! Well I'm not going to be freezing butt off every time either!" the navy-haired teen retorted. The wind blistered by again, causing the foolish "champ" to jump in shivers. Rei sweatdropped as he walked back to the bench to the rest of his team. Max shivered on the bench in the backyard of the dojo. He quivered in his orange jacket.

" It is kinda cold, Kai. Maybe we should stop practice early," the American blonde commented to his team captain. Kai glanced over at Tyson as he jumped again out of stupidity and coldness. Kai sighed in exasperation.

" Fine, but don't expect this often," the cold Russian submitted. Tyson let out a joyous shout, and then ran inside merrily. Max and Rei followed in suit, leaving a cold Russian outside in the crisp air. ' Wimps.' Kai thought. He stood up slowly and turned on his heel to walk in when he noticed a shadow out of the corner of his crimson eyes. The blue-haired Russian pulled out his launcher and aimed Dranzer at the unknown silhouette. Just as he was about to rip the cord, a familiar teenage girl stepped out of the shadows. She had mid-back length milk chocolate hair with two icy-blue bangs that framed her pale face. Her attire was a pair of jeans that widened slightly at the bottom with a navy-blue short sleeve shirt. The shirt had a frosty white dragon on it with the kanji for "dragon" in the corner. She stepped out of the shadows with her hands raised.

" Don't shoot, 'cause whatever it is, I DIDN'T do it!" the young female claimed. Kai put his launcher away and glared at his teammate, Tenshi. The mischievous girl had joined the team a few months back after making a mockery of Tyson in public. Those two still didn't get along at times and because of that, Tenshi and Hilary were like mortal enemies. But she was able to get rid of the annoying brunette half of the time, making training a lot quieter. Kai continued to glare as she walked to the dojo. Just as she reached the sliding wooden door, the team captain's bitter voice brought her to a halt.

" You missed practice, where were you?" he interrogated icily. Tenshi turned her head back to face her captain as she answered.

" Renewing my passport," she said simply, and then she continued into the dojo. The cold crimson-eyed teen lifted an eyebrow, but followed suit into the traditional building.

* * *

Tenshi slipped into the dojo with a smile plain on her face. She marched over to her bag and began to pack up her belongings. The rest of the BladeBreakers filed into the main room from the kitchen with mugs of hot cocoa in hand.

" Hey, Tenshi! Where've you been? You missed practice," Max remarked, then taking another sip of his cocoa. Rei nodded in agreement as Tyson sulks about her being "lucky".

" Yeah, and why are you packing your stuff? Are you leaving?" the wise neko-jin observed.

" Exactly what I was thinking, especially since I didn't say you could take a vacation," Kai declared, leaning against the wall as he stepped in and crossing his arms. Tenshi's grin grew wider as she stood and faced the bladers.

" Well, yes…but if the whole team goes on vacation, you HAVE to issue a break," Tenshi began slowly. The team stared at her as she continued. " You see, I'm going home for the holidays and my house-mates wrote to me that I can bring any friends back. So…anybody want to go to the U. S.?" the teenager finished, looking at the others hesitantly. The group of bladers exchanged glances, and then looked back to the brown-eyed girl.

" Well, we could all use a break, it is the holiday season after all," Rei reported cheerfully. Max then stepped up.

" And it would be nice to spend it away from the dojo for once," the blonde added on. Tyson pumped his fist into the air ecstatically.

" U. S. A., here we come!" he exclaimed. Tenshi's face then broke out in a smile again. She turned back to her captain, a desperate expression shown clearly on her face.

" So, what do you say? Maybe a vacation can be issued?" Tenshi asked pleadingly. Kai's crimson eyes swept across the room to every face, finally resting on the icy-blue banged teen. He let out a harsh sigh before giving his verdict.

" Fine, but-"

" YES!" Tyson interrupts annoyingly. An ear-splitting smack was heard over by the navy-haired baka. Tenshi twirled her kendo stick menacingly as Tyson rubbed his head in agony. She glowered at him, resting her kendo stick on her shoulder and her other hand on her hip.

" Quiet baka! I heard a "but" in there…" she stated. The group turned back to their captain as he cleared his throat.

" I said "Fine", but that means on one condition," he finished. The four teens swapped glances, and then nodded for him to continue. "You all have to do at least some kind of physical training while we're away." And with that, he closed his eyes and awaited the group's decision. Tenshi's face broke back into smiles and pumped her fist in the air and pulled back into an elbow thrust.

" **ALRIGHT!** U.S.A., here we come!"

* * *

The next few days were hectic while trying to pack for the sudden trip. Although much to Tenshi's dismay, Hilary found out and decided to tag along. As much of an annoyance this was, they continued to pack…whenever the group wasn't helping Tyson find his socks. Then the time finally came, after threes hours of waiting at the airport lobby (Tyson had lost his luggage at the airport café), the large group of six was on the plane and on their way. Tyson was snoring in his window seat next to Hilary, Rei and Max were having a discussion about "Chinese fortune cookies" from their seat behind them, and Tenshi was staring out the window as the clouds rolled by. Kai just quietly sat in his seat next to her, arms crossed and eyes closed in a not-caring way. Max turned around in his seat to face the female zoning out behind him.

" Hey Tenshi," he called, grabbing her attention. She nodded for him to go on. " You mentioned, "house-mates", who are they exactly?" Tenshi's eyes widened, then she started to snicker quietly. Kai opened one eye and stared at her out of his crimson eyes. The American blonde raised an eyebrow quizzically at Tenshi's chuckles and the blue-haired Russian turned his head to face the laughing teen.

" Is there something you know, but we don't? If so, speak now," he said warningly. He did **NOT** like to be in the dark in regards to anything. Tenshi took a breath and tried to settle her giggles before she spoke.

" MAYBE…don't worry, it's nothing. It's not like their ex-criminals or anything like that. They're close friends of mine, and there is only two of them," the cheerful brunette replied, with a small chuckle at the end. Max looked back at Kai and shrugged his shoulders, but then flipped back around into his own seat. Kai continued to stare at her as she dug out her mp3 player, still laughing quietly under her breath. She noticed his gaze, and offered him a set of headphones.

" You wanna listen to it?" she questioned the captain. Tenshi glanced up to look him in the eye. His mysterious crimson eyes bore into her coffee bean pupils for a moment, then Kai turned his head away as he shook his head "no". Tenshi hesitated then shrugged her shoulders. The young teen then leaned back in her seat and positioned her headphones on her head. As soon as she pushed "play", the rock music of "Shining Collection" began to fill her ears. She began to nod her head slightly to the beat of the music. But her eyes drifted once more to the Russian next to her. '_Who knew that Kai had such striking eyes?_' she mentally questioned herself then she tore her eyes away quickly. '_Don't even go there Tensh. You can't think of your team captain like that.'_ She continued to listen to her music, eventually playing the drums really fast to match the beat. Kai glanced over at her with annoyance clear in his eyes.

" Could you possibly stop that?" he asked with irritation in his tone. When she continued to play her "air drums", he realized that she couldn't hear him at all. He released a heavy sigh then turned away, trying to ignore the teen next to him. And so the day continued just like that: Kai trying to ignore Tenshi's loud music and air drums, Rei and Max talking about Chinese sweets, and whenever Tyson was awake, him and Hilary fighting loudly. Eventually night swept over the now quiet plane. Everyone on the aircraft had fallen into a deep sleep, everyone but Kai that is. Even Tenshi had finally put away her air drums to get some rest although the headphones were still playing music into the unconscious teen. Only the songs had slowed down and were a lot quieter. Kai relaxed to some extent now that all was calm and silent. A thunderous snore was let out from a certain baka two rows in front the sleepless Russian. He internally sighed as it stillness fell across the plane again. He settled deeper into his plane seat when the icy captain heard a faint sound from the seat next to him. Kai looked over to see a sleeping Tenshi who was subconsciously singing the lyrics to her music under her breath. Her head rested on the edge of the window with her legs curled up beneath her and her hair falling around her face. Although the sound level was faint the words were as clear as day.

" Listen to your heart…when he's calling for you…listen to your heart…there's nothing else you can do…I don't know where you're going…and I don't know why…so listen to your heart…before…you tell him good-bye…" she sang softly in her sleep. The scarf-wearing boy shook his head.

' _What a pointless song, Has she nothing better to listen to?'_ he thought while shooting her a disapproving look that she would never see. But as "annoying" the lyrics were, he still calmed by the singing. It wasn't the best singing he's ever heard, but it wasn't half bad. Kai looked back in front of him and closed his eyelids, drifting into a peaceful slumber as the plane flew over the Pacific.

* * *

The sun was high in the U.S. skies as the Japanese Air Line flew over the U.S. of A. There was bunch of hustle as people tried to grab their luggage as the plane began it's descent. But of course, Hilary and Tyson were already at it.

" WHY'D YOU DUMP COLD WATER ON ME! WHAT I EVER DO TO YOU?"

" Well MAYBE if you woke up on time for once, we wouldn't have this problem!"

WHACK! WHACK!

Tenshi slammed her kendo stick loudly on both of their heads, settling the argument. The group grabbed their luggage as the plane door opened, releasing the crowd of civilians. The group trudged out into the lobby. The place was highly decorated with Christmas wreaths and reindeer. The group gazed around the lobby, then stopped and gathered around Tenshi.

" So now what? We have no idea where we are," Hilary asked in agitation. The group looked at Tenshi, who had a toothless smile plastered to her face.

" We grab a cab, take it to my place, then scare the crud out my friends when we get there!" she chirped merrily. And with that, Tenshi rotated on her heel and started to walk out of the building. The rest of the team followed their joyful teammate out into the snowy air. She looked out into the street, and then waved wildly for a taxi. As a bright yellow vehicle pulled up, she waved over another. The merry teen spoke quickly with both drivers, and then faced the group of beyblading teens happily. " Okay guys, the cabs are taking us to my place after we load up. Since there's six of us, three of us will go in one taxi and the other three will follow in the other. So MARCH!" And with that, she began to load her luggage into the first car. The others followed in suit and soon they were on their way. Since Hilary could not stand to be with Tenshi and had to be with Tyson, she sat in the other cab with Tyson and Max. And that left Rei and Kai with Tenshi in the first car. The whole ride there, Kai just gazed out the window lazily as Tenshi and Rei conversed next to him. About a half an hour or so later, the two yellow cars pulled up to a fairly large mansion with a massive yard to match. The house looked like two floors and the outside was decked with Christmas lights. The cabs pull up to the "house" and stop, allowing their passengers to get out of the vehicle and retrieve their things. The cars pulled away as the teens stood outside the oak front door. Tyson's mouth gaped widely at the place.

" Tenshi…you never said you were RICH!" he yelled loudly into her ear. The chocolate-haired teen stepped back and unclogged her ear.

" I'm not you baka. My friends and I have enough to get by and the house was from my… inheritance," she said looking slightly downcast, then she made a shushing sound as she crept into the house. Kai noticed the sadness sweep across her face, but followed the team and Hilary as they stepped into a high-class foyer. The stairs kinda swirled upwards and the railings were a polished redwood. The whole place seemed over the top, but it also had a homey-feeling rather than a stuck-up rich aura. Tenshi sat down her stuff quietly, then swirled around stupidly while muttering, "Home, sweet home". The group also sat down their belongings and looked around at the massive house. Suddenly, Tenshi froze and put a finger to her lips, motioning them to stay silent. She tiptoed to the corner of the room where the entrance to another room stood. She peeked around silently, then snickered. Tyson and the others crept over quietly.

" Tenshi?" Rei called softly behind her, she nodded her head as she peeked around again. " Why are we whispering in your own house?" he questioned, slightly confused. The mischievous girl looked back at him with a smirk plastered onto her face.

" Because the fun has now begun." And with that, she slinked silently around the corner. It was deadly silent, then…

" **AHHHHHH! CAVE TROLL!**" a female voice cried out. Tenshi bolted around the corner as another girl, African-American, chased after her in a fury. The teen wore a purple shirt, one side was sleeveless and the other was a three-quarter sleeve. She was clad in dark-blue jeans with silver chains that hung to her belt loops. She had long oak hair and two braids as bangs that were crimson red. " TENSHI!" the new teen yelled menacingly, then stopped dead in her tracks. She stood and thought for a moment. " Wait a second…Tenshi? TENSHI! KAZE! TENSHI'S HOME!" the African-American hollered to the upstairs, then glomped Tenshi who had stopped for a breather. The Beyblading boys and Hilary stood wide-eyed at the scene before them. Another teen came down the stairwell. She had medium-length black hair with silver streaks through it and was wearing a black jacket over a seemingly blue t-shirt. She had a tan skin, not as pale as Tenshi, but not as dark as the other odd teen. The three teens grouped together in reunion. Then Tenshi looked over and lead the two new girls to her international friends. (A/N: What? I would say Japanese, but one's Chinese, one's Russian, and another's American…Sorry. Continue!) She looked at the group cheerfully.

" Everyone, these are my friends Sakura Petela-," she points to the crimson-banged ranter,"-and Kaze Minakotsa," she introduces the other, sleepy looking teen. The group stared wide-eyed at the trio. Then Tenshi turned to her housemates. " And guys, these are my friends from Japan: Rei, Max, and Kai. Oh, and the couple over there is Hilary and Tyson," she commented as she introduced each one.

" WE'RE NOT DATING!" Hilary and Tyson shouted at the same moment. They shot each other a look, and then turned away as they crossed their arms. Tenshi leaned over to Sakura and Kaze and whispered quietly.

" See what I mean?" the two teens nodded giving the "couple" an odd look, but then turned to the rest of the bladers.

" Well, we're welcomed to have you here at our home," the one called Kaze started, but was rudely interrupted by the other temperamental one.

" Yeah, who knew Tenshi would actually bring someone back with her?" Sakura butted in, leaning on Tenshi and Kaze's shoulders. Tenshi pushed her away playfully, then turned back to the group.

" Come on guys, I'll lead you to your rooms and away from these two psychos so you can unpack," Tenshi said as she picked up her stuff and ran up the stairs, waiting at the top for the others. The boys exchanged looks, then headed up the stairwell after their new teammate. She led them down a hallway to the right of the steps. She pointed out various rooms to each individual until they all stood in front of their own rooms. " Now the bathroom is right down the hall there and my room is down the hallway, first door on the right if you need anything. And for now, I bid you adoo." And with that, she turned and went down the hallway to her own room. The team went into their separate rooms to unpack for what seemed to become, a very long and insane vacation.

* * *

Rei walked down the stairwell a little while later. Max had gone to town with Tyson, Hilary, and Kaze, who seemed to be more patient than her other friend, Sakura. And Kai just stayed in his room. As he reached the bottom of the stairs as began to wander about, looking for something to eat. As he meandered aimlessly down the halls, a loud argument reached his ears. " NO SAKURA! YOU CAN'T COOK WORTH BEANS!"

" OH YEAH! WELL FOR INFORMATION, I'VE GOTTON BETTER SINCE YOU LEFT!"

" OH REEEAALLY! WELL I'M NOT STUPID ENOUGH TO TRY OUT THAT THEORY!"

" CAVE TROLL!"

" IDIOT!"

Rei walked toward the sound to finally find the kitchen…and find Tenshi and Sakura ageing persistently. He sweatdropped slightly before walking into the room. He gulped quietly, hoping that interfering with the yelling wouldn't kill him. " Um, what's going on Tenshi?" he inquired as he eyed the now-dangerous looking kendo stick in her hand. She turned to him, her gaze diffused from before.

" Sakura was about to burn the house down trying to cook dinner," she smiled as she spoke. Sakura opened her mouth and raised her own " Daddy Frying Pan", only to be stopped by Rei.

" How about I cook dinner? I used to do it all the time back home," he said while gently stealing each of their "weapons". And with that, he washed his hands in the sink, took out some vegetables and began to slice away. Sakura stared wide-eyed at the neko-jin. Then she turned to her best friend.

" Where'd you pick him up at? He's almost like another Kaze-chan," she whispered. Tenshi just shook her head and laughed.

" You just say that because you think he's hot," Tenshi retorted, and left laughing all the way. Sakura blushed a deep red that almost matched her braided bangs.

" HEY! And where do you think YOU'RE going! I'm not done with you yet!" the embarrassed teen shouted after her friend. Tenshi kept walking, but turned to face Sakura as she did.

" My room. I've got some serious jet lag!" and with that, she turned back around and proceeded to up the stairs and to the left hallway. The tired teen advanced into her, then flopping down on her bed in exhaustion. Tenshi curled up on the bed, clutching a silver pillow with blue feathers in each corner and shifted her gaze to look at her night table. A small photograph of four people stared back at her, all of them smiling. In the photo was a man who barely had any hair on his head, just little black stubs, standing next to a woman who had long blonde hair that was brown at the roots. Right in front of the couple was a young boy with short blonde hair and a big cheesy smile that little kids make and next to him was a younger version of Tenshi, though the odd bangs were still shown. Tenshi's face broke out into a sad smile, then she turned away. Her eyes closed softly as she hugged the pillow closer to her and sighed softly. _Mum, Dad, Tai…I'm home.

* * *

_

The sun had set over the horizon as Kai sat quietly in his room, looking out his window into a dark abyss of the forest. The sun had set only a while ago, but the afternoon had droned slowly. He could hear the faint sounds of Hilary and Tyson yelling downstairs and could smell the sweet aroma of egg rolls. There was another yell from downstairs and immediately the two squabbling teens were quiet. Kai sighed at his misfortune, being stuck here with a group of unpredictable teens. _Why did I even go along with this?_ He thought while staring at the shadows, but his train of thought was interrupted by another shout from below.

" TENSHI! KAI! DINNER'S READY!" he heard a temperamental teen yell. He sighed as he left his room and headed for the stairs. Tenshi's calmer friend, Kaze stood at the bottom of the stairwell.

" Hey Kai, can wake Tenshi up? I think she's dead asleep in her room," the levelheaded female asked gently as she looked up to him. Kai grunted a reply, and then headed to the left corridor where her room was. There was a door curtain made of stars and moons with a sign above the doorway that stated "Elf Crossing". The unemotional Russian sweatdropped slightly at the stupidity of it all and entered the room mutely. He looked over at the sleeping teen and then shook her shoulder a little. Her eyes then burst open as she bolted upright and lashed out at the figure that woke her up, punching the air of where he was just standing. Her eyes widened as she realized whom she just attempted to punch.

" KAI! I'm so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't hit you did I?" She interrogated as she climbed out of bed. The Russian just glanced at her as he walked out of the room, pausing outside the doorframe.

" Dinner's ready."

Tenshi nodded as he left. She followed him down the flight of steps and into the dining room where the others had already sat down. " Well there's Mr. Grumpy-pants and Ms Sleepy-head. Glad you all decided to join us," Sakura commented as they walked in. Tenshi hit her in the back of the head as she took a place next to her and Kaze. The teen yawned a "shut it" as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The group quieted down, bowed their heads, and prayed quietly for their food. After that the noise level went back up as each of the large group tried to get a piece of everything set on the table. Max and Tyson each had their chopsticks on the same piece of General Tso's chicken and were quarreling over it. Although their shouts were ignored, Tenshi used her own chopsticks to steal the delicious meat prepared by Rei. She gulped it down in a heartbeat as the rest of them continued their meal. As the pack of eight concluded their meal, Kaze stood up as Sakura yelled for everyone's attention. It became silent as Kaze spoke happily.

" Okay, now that everyone is here, fed, and probably stuffed, it is time to go out and get…"

" OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!" Sakura and Tenshi exclaimed/interrupted merrily. The two teens grabbed the rest of the teens and marched out of the house and towards the woods outback. Kaze sighed happily as she started after them. _Maybe she'll be all right this year after all._

This is continued on the next page…


	2. Part Two!

Now Continuing…

* * *

The teenagers tromped through the forest, aimlessly looking for a perfect Christmas tree. Tenshi, Sakura, and Max critiqued each tree they passed, deciding whether or not the tree was big enough, fat enough, and etc. As they trudged wearily through the woods, Kaze used her flashlight to scan over the trees, pausing whenever the "judges" decided to analyze the tree. Suddenly, the calm teen stopped dead in her tracks and flashed her light to her right. " Hey "judges", what about this one over here?" she asked as the trio of critiques trotted over to the tree that had Kaze's light. It was fairly tall, fat at the bottom and not too fat either. The top pointed straight up instead of tilting to the side like many of the others. The three teens appeared to be thinking before they huddled close. After a moment of consideration, the small huddle broke and faced the rest of the pack with expressions full of smiles.

" The verdict for the tree is… CHOP IT DOWN!" Sakura exclaimed. Rei walked over, axe in hand, and began to hack away at the base of the tree. A few minutes later, the tree began to wobble before it started to fall to its side.

" TIMBER!" Tenshi and Max yelled as they cleared away from the tree. The green pine fell with a loud kaploom. Tyson and Max ran over to pick up the fallen lumber, put had no luck as the duo struggled to lift it off the ground. Tenshi and Kaze exchanged amused looks as they went over to the tree. The weak duo stepped back as Kaze went to the tip of the tree and Tenshi went to the back. The two females picked up the timber and began to walk back with the others in tow. Hilary snickered as Tyson fell in step next to her with a pout clear on his face and Max hopped next to Rei and Sakura. Kai ambled behind the group of merry teens, hoping this festive event would soon be over. When they arrived back at the house, they tried with great difficulty to get the pine in through the back door. But after much trial and error, the tree finally stood tall in the living room. The group looked up at their work happily, and although Kai wasn't smiling, he also had been put to work into trying to fit into the door. He began to pace out of the room when a voice called out and stopped him.

" HEY! Where do you think you're going!" Sakura shouted loudly. He turned and faced her carelessly with a glare.

" Yeah, we still have to decorate. And everyone decorates together. I know you don't know the meaning of the word sometimes, but please, just humor us," Tenshi commented almost pleadingly. The whole bunch teens shifted their gazes to look at their captain in anticipation. Kai released a breath of air as he started towards the group.

_Why I even humor them I will never know_. He thought as the beyblading teens and girls alike began to pull out strings out pure whitish/yellowish lights. As Max and Rei began to string them around the tree, Sakura switched on the T.V. as Kaze placed a DVD in the DVD player. Only moments later did a green, fuzzy dude with a nasty attitude pop up onto the screen. The real-people version of "The Grinch" began to play as the many youths began to dress up the tree in ornaments and strings of popcorn.

" Hey look! It's KAI!" Tyson remarked while pointing at the big screen where the Grinch himself was having a regular grumpy moment. Hilary and Max burst out in laughs as Sakura and Tenshi smirked at his statement. The decorating continued throughout the feature. Hilary had to stop Tyson from eating all the popcorn strings, Max, Rei, and Kaze having tinsel wars, Kai sitting carelessly on the couch by the tree, and when it came time in the movie, Sakura and Tenshi singing along to "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". After a while of festive merriment, Tenshi walked over to Kai with ornament in hand.

" Come on Kai, you gotta at least put up one ornament! Here, I'll let you put up the Grinch one!" she laughed joyfully. Her hand reached and grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the tree. He reluctantly went along with it as she placed an ornament in his hand, looking up to see her face. Her eyes danced like bouncing M&M's when he took the ornament of the Grinch. Kai turned and hung it on a high branch before turning back to the joyful young girl, just in time to see approval and contentment on her already blissful expression. He looked away as he sat back down, still wondering why he was going along with the whole event. Finally, as the movie neared its end, the adolescents stepped back to admire their work. The pine glistened from head to toe in ornaments, lights and tinsel. It shined brighter as the angel on the top sparkled and in the room. They gazed upon their tree in smiles, everyone but two. Obviously Kai wasn't very fond of the tree, but Tenshi just stared at it sorrowfully and let a gloomy sigh. Max looked at the new teammate next to him in concern.

" Hey, what's wrong Tenshi? You don't like the tree?" he asked her as she snapped out of her mournful trance. The icy-blue banged female forced a smile as she faced her usually hyper friend.

" Y-yeah, I'm fine. It does look great…but I'm heading up now," she said in a forced tone. Tenshi turned and began to stride out of the room. " 'Night, see you all in the morning!" She cried out to everyone as she left the room. The group just stared at the doorway as she left. Hilary put her hands on her hips in irritation.

" What's her problem? First she all happy-go-lucky-, then she's as depressed as a doorknob. Honestly, she has some issues!" Hilary ranted in an annoyed voice. Sakura whipped around in a glare and Kaze's face hardened slightly. Sakura marched up to the preppy girl in anger.

" Better watch what you say, little Miss perfect. You have no idea what she's going through and I doubt you would do any better in her place!" Sakura countered as she angrily crossed her arms. Hilary looked back at her with confusion on her face. The rest of the group shot confused glances at each other before Kaze spoke.

" You see, Tenshi's family is gone. She lost her dad this past summer and that same day, her mom and only brother, Tai, went missing and are supposed dead. This will be her first Christmas without them since we always used to stay with them during the holidays," Kaze's eyes lowered and Sakura closed her eyes in anguish, " We tried to keep the tradition the same, but I guess it couldn't make everything alright."

Sakura nodded in agreement. " Yeah, so try to be a little patient with her. This might happen a bit over the break. But not too much, she's a tough girl."

" Yeah trust me on this," Kaze added on while rubbing her arm, " She can be very hurtful, you've never been stuck in the sparring ring with her," she concluded. The group exchanged glances and Kai just stared at the doorway where Tenshi once stood.

_So that's what happened. That explains all the sad looks._ Kai thought as flashbacks from the day floated across his mind. When they first got to the "house" and just a moment ago. Meanwhile upstairs, Tenshi was lying in her bed and clutching the photograph to her. Crystal tears cascaded down her pale skin and onto the picture frame as she cried herself to sleep…

* * *

And so the days passed as the eight young people decorated for the holidays. Rei spent most of his time in the kitchen cooking and trying to teach Sakura how to cook; Tyson, Hilary and Max started to put up the wreaths and decorated the yard while Tenshi helped Kaze put the lights on the roof, and Kai was just Kai, disappearing whenever he was needed. About a week later, Tenshi and Kaze were still working on the roof. Sakura came outside after being in the kitchen for most of the afternoon. Tenshi waved her hands from the rooftop.

" YO SAKURA! Can you come up here for a moment? We need a third pair of hands up here!" the merry girl called out from the roof. The crimson banged female climbed up the ladder to her two friends. Tenshi clapped her hand together. "Okay, now here's what we gotta do. It's time to put up…" She shot mischievous looks at the other two, " The SANTA CLAUS!" Sakura and Kaze gasped in amusement and horror. Sakura gulped audibly.

" THE Santa Claus? Are you sure that's safe?" she questioned the impish teenager. Tenshi pulled out a rope and glanced back to them.

" Nope, but we're gonna do it anyway!" She took hold of the rope that already was tied to a very fat, plastic Santa that sat on the ground below. Kaze took some of the rope that trailed behind her and Sakura grabbed the rope behind Kaze. Together, they began to pull the humongous Santa onto the roof and soon it was just on the very edge of the rooftop. Suddenly, Sakura stepped back onto the roof part where it sloped downward. Losing her footing, she dropped the rope in her hands as she tumbled off the rooftop. Kaze also let go to reach for her as Sakura fell, but ended up falling as well. As the two tumbled off the rooftop screaming, Tenshi let go of the Santa entirely and allowed it to fall back to the hard earth. She ran towards the edge of the roof. " SAKURA! KAZE!" Unable to stop the fall, Tenshi closed her eyes in horror. Suddenly the screaming stopped, but there was no loud thud or boom that sounded like a collision. The female looked over the edge to see Rei holding Sakura bridal style in his arms and Sakura blushing like a maniac. Tenshi looked a little farther over to see Kaze caught by a baffled Kai. Although Kaze jumped out of his arms immediately, Tenshi felt a small ping of jealousy in her heart. She shook it off and jumped from parts of the rooftop, to windowsills, finally landing on the ground. " You guys okay!" she interrogated as the frantic teen ran to her house-mates. Kaze nodded with a small smile and Sakura just gave a shy nod as Rei seemingly reluctantly let her down. Rei looked at the trio.

" What were you trying to do anyway?" he asked them, Sakura in particular. She gave him a sheepish smile.

" You mean besides trying to fly? We were trying to put up Santa Claus, but he pushed them over the edge," Tenshi answered on everyone's behalf. The rest of the evening was spent with everyone working together to get Santa on the roof. Even Kai helped and at one point, stopped Tenshi from falling off the roof like Sakura and Kaze. By the end of the week, the house was heavily decorated, inside and out. They gazed at their handiwork and beamed. Kai shot a glance at Tenshi who was still smiling a mournful grin, but her face had a little more contentment than before. She noticed his gaze and shot him a smile in the midst of Christmas lights. He looked away abruptly but blushed a rose pink in the darkness as he walked away, disappearing again...

* * *

It was later that night that Kai finally came back to the home. He opened the back door silently and stealthily began his ascent upstairs when stopped by a shadow in the corner of his eye. All alone by the light of the Christmas tree, sat Tenshi just staring at the Christmas tree. Sapphire teardrops dripped slowly down the side of her face. He crouched nearby and out of plain sight, watching the teenage girl as she began to sing.

" Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you? Why have you gone away?" Tenshi began to sing through her tears, pausing for a breath. " Where is the laughter, you used to bring me? Why can't I hear music play? My world is changing, I'm rearranging. Does that mean Christmas changes too?" More sapphire droplets fell from her now murky eyes. "Where are you Christmas? Do you remember the one you used to know? I'm not the same one; see what the time's done. Is that why you have let me go?" After that, Tenshi bowed her head into her kneecaps. A moment later, she lifted her face back up with an expression that glistened from tears. " Mum…Dad…Tai…where are _you_? Why did you leave me…and why did you take away my happiness with you? Why?" Her face scrunched slightly in mixed emotions as more tears fell from her pupils.

A soft hand rested on her shoulder as a tall figure sat next to her. Her tear-stricken face whipped around to see her team captain, Kai. His eyes were still narrowed, but not angrily. But his pupils were filled with a bit of compassion instead of their usual void. " It's not your fault they left. They probably didn't want to go, but couldn't fight it. You should be considered lucky to have even known what kind of people your family was," he said as he settled next to her. Part of him had no idea what he was doing, but the other part is what urged him to continue, believing that they both needed this. " My dad left me when I was little, I don't know what became of my mom, I don't have any siblings and my only living relative is a psycho intent on taking over the world. I've been on my own for most of my life. At least you were able to have time with them. Try to remember the good things they left with you, but don't ignore the fact they're gone. Acknowledge it, but don't become so engrossed that you turn cold like me," Kai finished, still wondering why he was doing this at all. He could've ignored her like everyone else, but something was different about her. She tried so hard to be happy and normal when she was being torn apart inside, almost the exact opposite. But they were both hurting, and they both need to walk on. Tenshi stared at Kai for a moment, new understanding dawning upon her. _Who knew he hid so much, his past and who he really could be?_ She thought as Kai glanced back at her. " But you've already learned a lesson that I still haven't grasped."

Tenshi's watery eyes widened at the statement. " W-what is t-that?" she asked him in a whisper. He let out a sigh before he spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone.

" That it's okay to cry sometimes." Tenshi let out a sob and did the unexpected. She latched on tightly to his shirt, buried her face in the cloth, and let out silent tears. And even more surprisingly, he didn't move away from her grip. Instead, he put his arm around her shoulders and let her cry until no more tears came out. Tenshi lifted her red and puffy face from his shirt. He helped her stand up and they walked up the staircase. As the corridor went its separate ways, Tenshi headed to the left as Kai headed to the right to their own rooms. Tenshi hesitated before entering her room and looked back at the usually cold Russian. Kai gazed back and shot her a small smile, not a smirk, a smile. Tenshi's face lit up and she flashed a tiny grin back to him. Then she retreated into her bedroom, falling fast asleep without a trace of regret.

* * *

The next day was Christmas Eve and the ground outside was covered in half a foot of fluffy white snow. Tyson and co. rushed outside right after breakfast was finished. The snow was feathery, but thick enough to pack and form. As soon as everyone was out in the winter wonderland, they huddled close to each other. " A day like today should be treasured and used wisely, so…all in favor of an all out snow war say "aye"!" Sakura announced excitedly. The whole group shouted "aye" in unison, excluding Kai but was participating all the same. The teams were decided, though Tyson complained that there were no sides in war. The teams would split up and the war would begin five minutes after that. Kai, Kaze, Tenshi, and Max were on one team while Sakura and Rei were stuck with the quarreling "couple". Each team went off in separate directions. And thus the Battle of Christmas began. Kaze and Max his behind a pair of bushes as Tyson walked by with Hilary clinging to his hand. The duo ambushed the baka and frightened girl and then sprinted off before snowballs pummeled them. In another part of the property, Tenshi stood hidden behind a tree. She whirled around and threw a well-packed snowball at Sakura's unexpecting head. Tenshi flipped back behind the tree to keep hidden and not blow her cover. She peeked back around the bend of the tree only to have a snowball hit her square in the face. The girl shook off the snow and chased after Sakura, but as luck would have it, Rei jumped out from the bushes and pelted snowballs at her. Running off, she had been forced to retreat. Hiding back in the edge of the forest, she aimed another two snowballs at her friends. Just as they ran past her spot, she jumped out and chucked them as hard as she could towards her two targets. But unfortunately for her, it did not meet its intentional target. All Kai did was step out of the tree line and instantly he was bombarded by two hard snowballs. He whipped around to see an awestruck Tenshi. His lips curved into a smirk as he sprinted towards her.

" You're not going to get away with that," he remarked as she began to run away from him. Try as she might though, Tenshi wasn't fast enough to get away and was tackled by Kai into the soft, cold substance on the ground. Her blue camouflage snow hat flew off her head as she fell, her long brown hair flowing through the air until it was covered in snow. She laughed as she fell back first into the snow. Kai fell next to her in the snow while rubbing his head. " You know, you throw hard for a girl," he said, grumbling an "Ow" under his breath. Tenshi laughed again at his misery. Then Tyson appeared from seemingly nowhere.

" SEE! There are no sides in war!" He cried out randomly. Kai stood up and shoved a pile of the white fluffy stuff right into his face and smirked with pleasure.

" Yes there is Tyson. There's everyone in the world, and then there's you. There are two sides for you. Now I'll give you ten seconds to run away. Ten, nine, eight…" By the number seven he was already out of sight entirely. Kai turned back to Tenshi and helped her off the ground with a free hand. She got off the ground, brushed herself off, and put her snow hat back on top of her head. She turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back to Kai with a maniacal grin on her face.

" Hey Kai, could you do me a favor?" she asked in a singsong voice. One of Kai's eyebrows was quirked quizzically as she spoke. He nodded slowly.

" Sure, what?"

A few moments later…

" AHHHHHH! ATTACK OF THE SNOW BALLS!" Sakura yelled as Rei and herself were bombarded by a barrage of flying snow grenades. Tenshi gave Kai a high-five after their assault. And so that was the way the day was spent. Later that evening, after everyone had cleaned up from the "war", the group sat down for yet another dinner. The table was filled with an assortment of foods, ranging from ribs to beef stew. After prayer the group flung their teeth into the delicacies of sweet and sour. Tyson's eyes bulged wider than usual.

" Hey! Thwis is pwetty good. What do to wit Wei?" Tyson asked with his mouth full of food. Rei shook his head and showed him a toothed grin.

" I didn't make dinner tonight. So it seems that my apprentice, Sakura, has surpassed me in the culinary arts," he said while flashing his fanged grin to Sakura. The usually ranting teen blushed a deep crimson and looked away in embarrassment.

" Culinary arts! Why can't people just call it cooking and stop confusing people!" Tenshi suddenly shouted in a ranting tone close to that of Sakura's. Kaze suddenly looked up and looked around.

" Culinary Art is cooking? Who knew?" she asked in a confused voice. Tenshi leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

" See? Exactly my point!" she concluded. Little by little as she spoke, her chair had gotten farther away from the table and as soon as she finished her sentence he chair just began to fall straight backwards Just as she was about to hit the ground, a hand shot by and held the chair up. Kai pulled the chair next to him back up to its original upright position. Tenshi shot him a thankful look and then refocused on her food and the conversation at hand. Tyson noticed the events between them and began to formulate a plan until he was yelled at by Hilary to stop eating so fast. After dinner the group sat around the Christmas tree and began to exchange gifts. Gifts were received and given by friends new and old. Rei pulled out a gift box and handed it to Sakura in a kind of shy, modest way. She took the gift from his hands and flashed him an excited grin. As she tore away the wrapper and ripped open the box, her eyes glittered with surprise. Her gift was a silver choker with a green and red holly berry in the center. It shined and twinkled like nothing she had ever seen. She released her gasp and turned to Rei, speechless. He put a finger to his lips to keep her silent. He gave her a peck on the cheek as she turned even redder.

" Merry Christmas," he gently said as she wrapped his arms around him in a hug. Her gift to him, a new pair of nunchukus, felt small compared to his gift to her, but Rei loved them all the same. Some time after the exchange, Tenshi stood up above the ruckus and whistled for everyone's attention. After all was silent, she spoke to the crowd.

" All right everyone, now one more surprise for the evening. I have prepared this song just for tonight. Hit it Saku!" Tenshi pointed to Sakura, who pushed play on a boom box at her friend's command. The music to "Jingle Bells" played, but it wasn't Jingle Bells that Tenshi started singing…

" Dashing through Japan, in a Dragoon driven sleigh, o'er the dojo we fly, laughing all the way. Ha ha HA! Dranzer flies above, its feathers oh so red, and Tyson's lying on his back, pretending to be dead. OH! Jingle Bells, Tyson smells, Dranzer laid an egg. Max got on a sugar high, and then stole Rei's nunchukus. HEY! Jingle Bells, Tyson smells, Dranzer laid an egg. Max got on a sugar high, and then stole Rei's nunchukus," she sang joyously. Rei grabbed his nunchukus, seeing that Max had gotten a whole bag of sweets. Tenshi stole a look at Hilary and Tyson before continuing. " A day or two ago, Hilary and Tyson were seen, under the mistletoe, holding each other close. Only Kai saw, but surely not for long, because he got it all on tape, just to make him so. OH! Jingle Bells, Tyson smells, Dranzer laid an egg. Max got on a sugar high, and then stole Rei's nunchukus. HEY! Jingle Bells, Tyson smells, Dranzer laid an egg. Max got on a sugar high, and then stole Rei's nunchukus!" she finished happily and took a seat next to Kai. Tyson and Hilary blushed a deep red, but as Tyson stood up to protest, Kai whipped a video and shook it back and forth tauntingly.

"You wanna watch yourself kiss Hilary, Tyson? Because I taped it just for you," he taunted. Tyson became flustered as the rest of the teens laughed jokingly. Kai smirked in triumph over his annoying teammate. Tyson's mouth gaped open, but suddenly closed in "brilliance".

" Oh yeah! Well look who's under the mistletoe now!" Tyson laughed, pointing above Kai's head. The team captain looked up to see a piece of mistletoe hanging wearily between Tenshi and himself. Tenshi flushed a dark shade of pink as the group shifted their gaze towards them.

" You know the rules, Tensh. Anyone under the mistletoe must kiss, no if's, no but's-"

" No COCONUTS!" Sakura interrupted Kaze. Tenshi blushed darker and looked back towards Kai. Tyson laughed again and pointed at him as he got out a digital camera to photograph Kai's defeat. Kai turned towards Tenshi with a smirk on his face. They both leaned in closer to each other and before Tenshi knew it, their lips connected in a kiss. Tingles went up and down her spine as Kai deepened the kiss. There was a flash of a camera and a chime of a midnight on a clock. They broke the kiss and took a breath.

" Merry Christmas Tenshi," he said before giving her another kiss, just a peck on the cheek. The girls awed at the sight and the boys just gawked at the sight of their captain in such a state. Kai then stood up and walked right up to Tyson's face with a death glare fixed on his face. " Show anyone that picture and you'll be doing push-ups for the rest of your life, without food." Tyson gulped and nodded his head vigorously as Kai stepped back and sat down, wrapping his arm around Tenshi's shoulders. She continued to blush furiously as the group began to sing Christmas carols. Although she was without her parents and only brother, Tenshi knew now that she had a new family that would care for her. And a shoulder to cry on when it seemed like all was lost. But far, far away in the dark, Christmas morning sky, a blonde woman and child, and an almost bald man looked down upon the merry scene, happy that their love one was finally able to move on…

* * *

Fin

Hey everybody! Hikari-san here to wish you a Merry Christmas and may god bless you over this break. Try to remember through all the gifts and feasts that we are celebrating the birth of Christ. Thank him for what you have and not what you didn't get. Love your family and hold them dear during this time of year especially. You never know when they might go, like Tenshi's family, so love them while you got them and when you don't. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you all stay safe and loved. Someone is always watching out for you. BEWII!

Tenshi Hikari


End file.
